torpedo tips: maximum damage

[popeye]

Ahoy captains:

I just spent 3 or 4 hours firing my entire load of torps at a convoy. i missed with 2, through my own fault. but most hit targets. the problem is, i seemed to have to put far to many fish into them, and some did not even sink...they just sat low in the water, burning, but did not sink. another one, i didnt get credit for, even though i watched him break up, and slip under. no icon showed on the map, no tonnage added.

i would like some tips about where to hit ships, to use my torpedos most effeciently.

after i used all the fish i had on board, i only sank 4, and two or three wouldnt go down. i couldnt use my deck gun because of the 4 DD's that were looking for me.

[the_belgian]

Ahoy captains:

1)I just spent 3 or 4 hours firing my entire load of torps at a convoy. i missed with 2, through my own fault. but most hit targets. the problem is, i seemed to have to put far to many fish into them, and some did not even sink...they just sat low in the water, burning, but did not sink. another one, i didnt get credit for, even though i watched him break up, and slip under. no icon showed on the map, no tonnage added.

2)i would like some tips about where to hit ships, to use my torpedos most effeciently.

3)after i used all the fish i had on board, i only sank 4, and two or three wouldnt go down. i couldnt use my deck gun because of the 4 DD's that were looking for me.
1)for merchants i use 2,max.3 torpedo's*
2)i try to hit in 2 places;the rudder/screw and just under the funel.
3)waiting is part of comanding a sub,so wait untill the DD's are gone(could take some hours,i know)and finish your work with the deckgun.
*see underlined above
:know:
http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/3564/0100cr4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

USS Perch "The Booperboat"
Two patrols(rep. by the 2 skulls)
One insertion(rep. by raft under 2nd skull)
12 merchants downed
1 warship downed

[daft]

1)for merchants i use 2,max.3 torpedo's*
2)i try to hit in 2 places;the rudder/screw and just under the funel.
3)waiting is part of comanding a sub,so wait untill the DD's are gone(could take some hours,i know)and finish your work with the deckgun.
*see underlined above
:know:

USS Perch "The Booperboat"
Two patrols(rep. by the 2 skulls)
One insertion(rep. by raft under 2nd skull)
12 merchants downed
1 warship downed

In regard to item number two on your list; Is there any way of sending just the bearing to TDC in order to hit different parts of the ship? I'm to slow to use the stadimeter in order to aim my torps at different locations on my targets. :)

[the_belgian]

In regard to item number two on your list; Is there any way of sending just the bearing to TDC in order to hit different parts of the ship? I'm to slow to use the stadimeter in order to aim my torps at different locations on my targets. :)

Set bearing midships the difference want make the day(if distance isn't to large)and reset your periscope to the point you want to hit(spreading factor 0).

[Julius Caesar]

[quote=the_belgian]

In regard to item number two on your list; Is there any way of sending just the bearing to TDC in order to hit different parts of the ship? I'm to slow to use the stadimeter in order to aim my torps at different locations on my targets. :)

use spread option (from -2 to +2 is ok)

[the_belgian]

[quote=the_belgian]

In regard to item number two on your list; Is there any way of sending just the bearing to TDC in order to hit different parts of the ship? I'm to slow to use the stadimeter in order to aim my torps at different locations on my targets. :)

use spread option (from -2 to +2 is ok)

That,of course,is also a way...

[popeye]

wait untill the DD's are gone


so, they WILL abandon 2 or 3 crippled merchants, if i'm patient?

[GTHammer]

Ok, I thought I'd try piggybacking my question onto this thread before I started my own. Like popeye I have encountered merchants ect and chalked up a number of hits with my torpedos and things just seemed wrong in general. For example I used 5, count 'em 1,2,3,4,5 torpedos on a single Large Modern Composite. The first torpedo was a dud, but even if you throw it out the ship still didn't sink after four hits. Each torpedo was fired at high speed from within 2000 yards and set to run at a depth of 10-12 feet. I was forced to surface and put between 8-10 HE rounds from my deck gun right into the sweet spots before she finally gave up the ghost. Anyway my question is essentially, 1. What are the best depths to run your fish at for max damage? 2. Anything else I'm missing?(Other than torpedo placement, under stack aka engine room and screws.)

[orangenee]

wait untill the DD's are gone


so, they WILL abandon 2 or 3 crippled merchants, if i'm patient?

Yeah they probably just decide that you got what you came for and left the area if you stay quiet enough.

[daft]

[quote=the_belgian]

In regard to item number two on your list; Is there any way of sending just the bearing to TDC in order to hit different parts of the ship? I'm to slow to use the stadimeter in order to aim my torps at different locations on my targets. :)
use spread option (from -2 to +2 is ok)

Yes, but I would like to use a similar method to what Morton/O'Kane used on the Wahoo, and O'Kane/Frazee used on the Tang. They set a constant bearing and fired their torps as the part they wished to hit passed the stationary center line of the scope. I haven't figured out a way to do that yet. A work around would be to send individual bearings on different parts of the target, but that seems impossible since the stadimeter is very hard to operate on a moving target without locking the scope.

[daft]

Ok, I thought I'd try piggybacking my question onto this thread before I started my own. Like popeye I have encountered merchants ect and chalked up a number of hits with my torpedos and things just seemed wrong in general. For example I used 5, count 'em 1,2,3,4,5 torpedos on a single Large Modern Composite. The first torpedo was a dud, but even if you throw it out the ship still didn't sink after four hits. Each torpedo was fired at high speed from within 2000 yards and set to run at a depth of 10-12 feet. I was forced to surface and put between 8-10 HE rounds from my deck gun right into the sweet spots before she finally gave up the ghost. Anyway my question is essentially, 1. What are the best depths to run your fish at for max damage? 2. Anything else I'm missing?(Other than torpedo placement, under stack aka engine room and screws.)

I usually get in real close and fire a spread of two or three. If they miss, I can whip around for a stern tube shot, or fire the remaining bow tubes before the angle opens up too much. This has given me a very high rate of hits using manual TDC. The errors are usually cancelled out by the very short range. If I can't get close enough, I head surface and do another end around. I think Mortons words to O'Kane says it all:

"Tenacity Dick. Stay with the bastard until he's on the bottom".

[UnSalted]

Ok, I thought I'd try piggybacking my question onto this thread before I started my own. Like popeye I have encountered merchants ect and chalked up a number of hits with my torpedos and things just seemed wrong in general. For example I used 5, count 'em 1,2,3,4,5 torpedos on a single Large Modern Composite. The first torpedo was a dud, but even if you throw it out the ship still didn't sink after four hits. Each torpedo was fired at high speed from within 2000 yards and set to run at a depth of 10-12 feet. I was forced to surface and put between 8-10 HE rounds from my deck gun right into the sweet spots before she finally gave up the ghost. Anyway my question is essentially, 1. What are the best depths to run your fish at for max damage? 2. Anything else I'm missing?(Other than torpedo placement, under stack aka engine room and screws.)

I use different depths for my settings, trying for keel breakers.

Large freighter/tanker, depth set at 14-15. Usually 2 torps for each. I'd say 1/3-1/2 of the targets sink on their own afterwards.

Medium freighter/tanker, depth set at 10-11 feet. Again, 2 torps but some will sink before the second torp hits (danged aggravating but effective. Probably 2/3 go down without more than a final couple of shells.

Small freighters/tankers, depth at 6. One torp. Usually they go down quicker than a hooker's panties.

Destroyers, depth of 5.

I've seen very rough seas cause my torps to run right under the middle of some fat targets so I may cut the depth back by a foot. Sounds weird but I like the best odds I can get. That's why I try to set up shots at 1000 yards max and 500-700 preferably.

[popeye]

i cracked a large merchant in half with one torpedo last night. under the keel, about 14 feet like unsalted just said.

i would rather not waste torpedos on smaller targets, especially DD's

i hate large waves breaking my lock.

[zylark]

Maximum damage from a torpedo will always be achieved by the one that has a faulty gyro, and circles back to your firing position...

:D

[CaptainHaplo]

Good one Zylark

One point on the thread though - are you using magnetics or contact torps? This has a huge bearing - alot of magnetics explode very close to - but not on/under their targets - they LOOK like hits - but are actual prematures. This often accounts for the lack of damage some people see.

Personally - I always use contact torps...

[jdkbph]

Ok, I thought I'd try piggybacking my question onto this thread before I started my own. Like popeye I have encountered merchants ect and chalked up a number of hits with my torpedos and things just seemed wrong in general. For example I used 5, count 'em 1,2,3,4,5 torpedos on a single Large Modern Composite. The first torpedo was a dud, but even if you throw it out the ship still didn't sink after four hits. Each torpedo was fired at high speed from within 2000 yards and set to run at a depth of 10-12 feet. I was forced to surface and put between 8-10 HE rounds from my deck gun right into the sweet spots before she finally gave up the ghost. Anyway my question is essentially, 1. What are the best depths to run your fish at for max damage? 2. Anything else I'm missing?(Other than torpedo placement, under stack aka engine room and screws.)

I think the torpedo depth setting is actually in meters. When you say you're setting 10 to 12 feet, do you mean 10 to 12 units on the dial or do you mean 3 to 4 units on the dial? If I'm correct, the difference is significant.

What you describe was happening to me a lot until (I think) I figured it out. Thinking the numbers on the dial were feet, I was setting the torps to hit low on the hull, or even go under if I wanted to use the magnetic detonator. The result - some of the torps were going right under the ship without exploding and others were exploding without much effect.

When I realized my mistake, I started setting all torps to the minimum depth (which if I'm right is 3 meters (or ~10 feet) and my kill rate against medium size merchants with one or two torp hits went up significantly.

JD

[Yanaran]

Yes, but I would like to use a similar method to what Morton/O'Kane used on the Wahoo, and O'Kane/Frazee used on the Tang. They set a constant bearing and fired their torps as the part they wished to hit passed the stationary center line of the scope. I haven't figured out a way to do that yet. A work around would be to send individual bearings on different parts of the target, but that seems impossible since the stadimeter is very hard to operate on a moving target without locking the scope. Unclick the position keeper.
Lock on the target and take your range with the stadimeter.
Unlock the target and move the scope to where you want to fire.
Resend the range to the TDC, this will send your new bearing.
Fire when desired part of target passes the centerline.

Depending on how much you move the scope your range will be slightly off using this method but it will fire in the way you describe. Personally I never fire this way because I prefer to use divergent spreads (first show towards the stern, second the center and last shot at the bow), using the spread angle dial. This spread makes it harder to evade all the torpedoes, and if you're using manual targetting the chance of creating such a perfect solution that you actually hit the "aim point" is minimal anyway.

[V.C. Sniper]

I :rotfl: at you guys. One torpedo per ship is all you need! :yep: :arrgh!:

[GTHammer]

Thanks everyone. I got into the middle of a convoy today and tried out some of the different depths and ranges. Things seemed to go better this time. Most went down after 2 hits. Small merchants 1 hit. :up:

[-Pv-]

I never put more than two torps in a merchie of any size.

Yes, the escorts WILL eventually abandon still-floating or even moving targets in favor of faster-moving uninjured ships (unless they are the command/lead ship as we have learned.)
-Pv-

[Lagger123987]

wait untill the DD's are gone


so, they WILL abandon 2 or 3 crippled merchants, if i'm patient?

I like that advice!

[popeye]

i have been setting my torpedo depth somewhere between 10-15. only 15 if it was a big ship like a passenger liner or some such. (i'm hoping to find a AC, but no luck yet). so far i have never seen a fish go under without going off, so i would guess that a setting of 3-4 might not be deep enough in most cases.

nor have i had any trouble with the magnetic detonators, although i seldom use it.

i have to admit though, that i just hit 'L' to lock it, and then fire. so far all my fighting has been in very large swells, that make it hard to maintain contact.

anyone have a link to some diagrams with sweet spots, or any such?

[JALU3]

Hello, new to this board, but have been playing US submarine sims since Silent Service II, and even that one on the NES.

The computer will usually automatically set depth to 6 ft, unless otherwise changed by the user. However I remember back from the Silent Service days that 6 ft was usually optimal for mediem to small merchant ships . . . 1-5 feet for destroyers and 10-15 feet for large merchant ships and large warships. Does this still hold true in Silent Hunter four? As I sank a Hiryu at 700 yards with four fish at 6ft depth about the USS Salmon, before transfering to a new boat in Pearl.

[daft]

Unclick the position keeper.
Lock on the target and take your range with the stadimeter.
Unlock the target and move the scope to where you want to fire.
Resend the range to the TDC, this will send your new bearing.
Fire when desired part of target passes the centerline.

Depending on how much you move the scope your range will be slightly off using this method but it will fire in the way you describe. Personally I never fire this way because I prefer to use divergent spreads (first show towards the stern, second the center and last shot at the bow), using the spread angle dial. This spread makes it harder to evade all the torpedoes, and if you're using manual targetting the chance of creating such a perfect solution that you actually hit the "aim point" is minimal anyway.

Hmm... that's exactly what I don't want to do. I've got the range dialed in and only want to send a bearing so I can fire when the ship passes arrives at that exact bearing. No fiddling with the stadi, just a constant bearing. :)

[Yanaran]

Hmm... that's exactly what I don't want to do. I've got the range dialed in and only want to send a bearing so I can fire when the ship passes arrives at that exact bearing. No fiddling with the stadi, just a constant bearing. :)
Clicking the red send button sends the bearing you're currently aiming at.

[DirtyHarry3033]

I think the torpedo depth setting is actually in meters. When you say you're setting 10 to 12 feet, do you mean 10 to 12 units on the dial or do you mean 3 to 4 units on the dial? If I'm correct, the difference is significant.

What you describe was happening to me a lot until (I think) I figured it out. Thinking the numbers on the dial were feet, I was setting the torps to hit low on the hull, or even go under if I wanted to use the magnetic detonator. The result - some of the torps were going right under the ship without exploding and others were exploding without much effect.

When I realized my mistake, I started setting all torps to the minimum depth (which if I'm right is 3 meters (or ~10 feet) and my kill rate against medium size merchants with one or two torp hits went up significantly.

JD
I've wondered about that, what with the bizarre mix of imperial and metric.

But if it's in metric then why does the depth scale go to 50???!!!? Somehow I can't picture a ship with a draft anywhere close to 50 meters (164 feet) :o

And besides I'm regularly popping merchants with a draft of 21' - 24' by setting the depth scale on "11" which if it's meters would be 36'. And usually seeing the torp impact the hull well above the keel in the event cam.

But still something ain't right, I popped a medium old tanker in the bow last night with those settings, a single torp, and within a few minutes her foredeck was totally awash and her ass sticking way up. Within an hour she was back up to 5kts with her bow still under water and her props half out of the water! Was a sight to see :yep:

Gonna try setting shallower depths, and see if that makes a difference...

DH

[daft]

Hmm... that's exactly what I don't want to do. I've got the range dialed in and only want to send a bearing so I can fire when the ship passes arrives at that exact bearing. No fiddling with the stadi, just a constant bearing. :) Clicking the red send button sends the bearing you're currently aiming at.

Nice! You mean the "send to TDC" button in the tracking tool?

[JALU3]

Large oil tanker = six fish and a dozen AP shells.

I set all fish to high speed, firing within 2000 yds each time, two fish per round, three rounds, three different times. All set for 12.5 feet depth.
First set of fish hit from around 135 degress to starboard from bow of target. Second set of fish hit from 45 degress to starboard from bow of target. Third set of fish hit from 45 degress to port of targets bow. Ship's convoy left it after the second set, as did the loan destroyer that remained by her . . . after several hours . . . which lead to the third set . . . once it was dusk I surfaced on her starboard side, and let the deck gun, a 4/50, finish her off.

Anyone spend that much ammunition on a single large tanker?
Guess we know where her torpedo belt lies . . . 12.5 ft below the water line. Have had better times sinking a ship her size at fish set at at 6 ft (usually 3-4 fish when set at that depth.)

Now it's back to midway for refit, and then its out again. Not going to bother getting a new mission until trawling the Solomans around SEP 42

[Yanaran]

Large oil tanker = six fish and a dozen AP shells.

Aim for the bridge section and the engine section. You need to "destroy" the ship, not sink it through flooding. Engine section and bridge section can give you nice secondary explosions that greatly reduce number of torpedoes needed to destroy the ship structure.

[STEED]

finish your work with the deckgun.


Not in my case as I came up near my wounded prey he had teeth and started shooting back, when I got out of his range there was a lot of damage needed fixing.

Don't surface to near the wounded beast. ;)

I will admit it only happen once thankfully.

[heartc]

Hmm... that's exactly what I don't want to do. I've got the range dialed in and only want to send a bearing so I can fire when the ship passes arrives at that exact bearing. No fiddling with the stadi, just a constant bearing. :)
Unfortunately, there is no seperate "Send/Enter bearing" option like there was in RL and in SHI. This has been discussed at length in the past in threads where I was involved in. You will either have to re-measure range and send that, or send the outdated range to transmit a new bearing. Luckily, range is the least important of all datas for a firing solution and makes little difference for the torpedo gyro angle, if any (it would severely screw the target speed solution though once people get the magic chronometer from SHIII back and compute speed with that based on an inaccurate range).

[JALU3]

Large oil tanker = six fish and a dozen AP shells.

Aim for the bridge section and the engine section. You need to "destroy" the ship, not sink it through flooding. Engine section and bridge section can give you nice secondary explosions that greatly reduce number of torpedoes needed to destroy the ship structure.

OK, I tried 14ft a a large old tanker, both aimed at under the funnel. Good times, good times, can someone sticky the post concerning proper depths for different sized vessels?

[GTHammer]

Bump/ Did suggested influence depths ever get ironed out? I found a few threads discussing discrepancies between actual ship draft depths and those listed in the manual/chart. The threads/posts weren't real recent though and it would be nice to know if any of this has been fixed via 1.1 or 1.2 or where the issues currently stands...

[Jay]

Ahoy captains:
I just spent 3 or 4 hours firing my entire load of torps at a convoy. i missed with 2, through my own fault. but most hit targets. the problem is, i seemed to have to put far to many fish into them, and some did not even sink...they just sat low in the water, burning, but did not sink.
In real life, some ships refused to sink despite being hit by multiple torpedoes. Check out this story about the Kittanning:
www.uboat.net/about/members/ships_demo.html?shipID=3280 (http://www.uboat.net/about/members/ships_demo.html?shipID=3280)

[WernerSobe]

wait untill the DD's are gone


so, they WILL abandon 2 or 3 crippled merchants, if i'm patient?

Yeah they probably just decide that you got what you came for and left the area if you stay quiet enough.

which is pretty much unrealistic and should be adressed. Ive been reading about destroyers hunting a sub for days after attack on a convoi until it surfaced and surrendered due to low oxigen. In real they would never abbandon a damaged ship and leave it to its fortune. More likely they would call another merchant to tow it (i dont expect a patch on this) or if its damaged to much they would evacuate and sink it.

[hyperion2206]

I never put more than two torps in a merchie of any size.

Yes, the escorts WILL eventually abandon still-floating or even moving targets in favor of faster-moving uninjured ships (unless they are the command/lead ship as we have learned.)
-Pv-

I always stick to the US submarine doctrine: Fire as many torps at one target to insure you hit the target. I know that's not very efficient, but it feels historically correct.:D